“It’s important we don’t gloss
over the full impact of National’s decision to abandon our
local rail manufacturing workforce and industry and opt for
the cheapest possible price for these locomotives, the
Auckland EMUs and the flat top wagons, all of which could
have had varying levels of assembly or manufacture here in
New Zealand.”

“As we knew at the time, and as
the BERL report confirmed in relation to the Electric
Multiple Units, you cannot simply compare the initial
purchase price. KiwiRail will inevitably have whole-of-life
cost blowouts if it continues to take a short term
procurement approach solely focused on the cheapest products
available.”

“Value is not just upfront costs.
It is also about ongoing repairs and maintenance work, as we
are seeing right now, not to mention all the primary and
secondary jobs that are created and industries supported
when goods are manufactured locally.”

“Who is
going to be held accountable for these trains being supplied
with asbestos in them? All this extra expense,
inconvenience for customers, and the potential safety risk
that existed for workers, can be traced back to the decision
not to build these trains locally.”

“I look
forward to John Key’s response on this matter,” Wayne
Butson said.

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